The overall results are mixed, but there's no denying that the superpower on display in "Inkheart" is a novel one.

Mo Folchart (Brendan Fraser) is a "silvertongue," able to bring book characters to literal life by reading their stories aloud. It's a nifty parlor trick. Could be fun reading Penthouse forum but you might want to stay away from anything by Stephen King

For Mo it's a curse. Years ago he read aloud an obscure fantasy called "Inkheart," with the result that characters from the book entered our world. Simultaneously his beloved wife, Resa (Sienna Guillory), vanished ... presumably she has become a character (and prisoner) of the novel.

Now Mo, with his 12 year old daughter, Meggie (Eliza Hope Bennett), wanders Europe in search of another copy of "Inkheart" that might allow him to undo the damage. Pursuing them is a crew of black-jacketed thugs from the novel, led by the sinister Capricorn (Andy Serkis), who wants to use Mo's power to bring forth weapons and wealth. These bad guys have adapted well to our world, taking over a medieval village in a mountainous part of Italy and setting forth from a crumbling castle to do mischief.

An entirely different case is Dustfinger (Paul Bettany), a street magician from "Inkheart" who can create flames just bysnapping his fingers. He and his furry companion want Mo to return them to the pages of the book, where Dustfinger left behind a wife (a cameo by Jennifer Connelly) and family.

Along the way Mo and Meggie team with Aunt Elinor (Helen Mirren), an eccentric bookworm, Fenoglio (Jim Broadbent), thegraying author of "Inkheart", and Farid (Rafi Gavron), one of the 40 thieves brought to our world from a reading of "1001Arabian Nights."

At its most intriguing "Inkheart" is a bit like the "National Treasure" films but delivering tidbits of literary history instead of nuggets of American history. But despite strong production values and a cast of heavy hitters, "Inkheart" never hooks us as it should. The film is unfocused. Is it Mo's story? Meggie's? Dustfinger's? The script lacks a point of view and jumps restlessly from one point to another. And then there are the characters themselves, most have been reduced to a single personality trait, more walking cliches than fully formed people. Not even seasoned pros like Mirren and Broadbent can fully inhabit these cartoonish creations.

Cheeky visual references to classic children’s books, the flying monkeys from “The Wizard of Oz” and the ticking croc from “Peter Pan” are among the creatures shown here, keep the pic sporadically engaging and underscore its reverential attitude toward literature. Visually, the film is impressively crafted in all respects, with lush widescreen views of coastal Italy and splendid palatial interiors.

The sole American in a cast of mostly British actors, Fraserdoesn't vary his game much. Bennett is spirited andwatchable as a girl who must ultimately draw on her ownimaginative power to save the day, and Jim Broadbent isin reliable fuddy-duddy form as Fenoglio, the author of thenovel within the novel. Bettany in particular is broody andcool, and I enjoyed watching him struggle with the notionof free will after he (literally) meets his maker.

Overall "Inkheart" is a moderately enjoyable adventure withthe great visuals the movie offers, and the intriguing ideaat its heart, kids will probably love it. But older, more criticalmoviegoers may have a harder time suspending theirdisbelief to the level Inkheart requires.